Hunter Pence needed just a couple of days to coin a catch phrase when he was first traded to the Phillies. In his second game for them, Pence was standing in the outfield in the top of the 10th inning when Shane Victorino told him that he was hungry. Pence was up first in the bottom of the inning, so Victorino asked him to go out and win the game for the Phillies.

Pence did just that, hitting a double and then scoring on a double. A microphone was put in front of his face and Pence was asked what was going through his mind as he rounded third: “Good game, let’s go eat.”

“Let’s Go Eat” is played out by now, it was soon after this rough Phillies season started. But Pence, now the Giants right fielder, isn’t done with sayings. “We’re putting our foot on the gas here,” Pence said after the Giants beat the Cardinals 15-0 tonight. “We put the pedal to the metal.”

Pence said the same thing after a blowout in Colorado, but that one paled in comparison to this one. In a real park, against a real good team, the Giants crushed. They were Usain Bolt in the 100 meters, LeBron James against the Bobcats, Carl Winslow at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The demolition was so complete that you can’t find a similar game in the Giants-Cardinals history book. And that history goes back to at least 1892. This is the Giants’ biggest shutout in the series, their biggest of any kind in 12 years.

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“We don’t have a lot of games like this,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “The guys have picked it up this road trip with the bats. They’re getting timely hits. The confidence is soaring.”
The Giants are 29th in the majors in runs scored at home. They’re first in average runs scored on the road, in large part because they’ve averaged 7.66 runs in road games since the All-Star break and have scored 56 on this 5-1 road trip. Do the new guys know that it’s not always like this?

“Nights like this are always welcome,” said Scutaro, who drove in seven runs and capped the blowout with a grand slam in the ninth. “We have guys who have had success in the past. You see the lineup we have and I don’t see any reason why we can’t keep doing this.”

Most Giants fans could point to a bunch of reasons. But if you step back, you see a lineup with two MVP candidates in Buster Posey and Melky Cabrera, two quality additions in Pence and Scutaro, a red-hot leadoff hitter in Angel Pagan. Pablo Sandoval should be back in a few days and Brandon Belt all of a sudden has three consecutive multi-hit games. Brandon Crawford even got into the act and has reached base five times in his last nine at-bats. Ryan Theriot had slumped a bit but scored three runs tonight.

The pieces are there. Not to score 15 runs a night, or even that 7.66. But the pieces are there to be plenty good enough to support a pitching staff that’s now undoubtedly led by Ryan Vogelsong.

Having said all that, the Giants might take the field in a few hours and go 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position. They do things like that quite a bit. They recently had a 3-7 homestand, you know.

But for tonight at least, the pieces were there. And they were moving often and always in the direction of home plate. The Giants, well, they …

Hunter?

“We put the pedal to the metal.”

— Vogelsong was the story for most of the night, and then those Giants went out and scored 13 runs in the final four innings. Still, that’s 21 six-inning starts in 21 tries for Vogelsong. He lowered his ERA to 2.27, the lowest mark in the National League by nearly two-tenths of a run. Among Major League starters, Vogelsong trails only Los Angeles Angels ace Jered Weaver (2.13) in ERA.

The most impressive thing tonight was that he didn’t let the budding blowout change the way he pitched.

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“I don’t pitch to the score,” he said. “I pitch like it’s 0-0. I’ve had times in the past where I pitched to the score and it got me in trouble. We had a really good game plan and I was able to execute it.”

Vogelsong was asked if this was the best all-around game he has ever been a part of. He took a long pause.

— Vogelsong on Crawford’s sliding catch in the hole at shortstop and strong throw to first: “It’s definitely a play I’ve seen him make a lot. It wasn’t a big shock. He definitely played a big game at shortstop.”

Crawford had 11 total chances tonight and handled them flawlessly and often spectacularly. He has just one error in his last 39 games.

“The game he had defensively is one of the better games I’ve seen at shortstop,” Bochy said. “He’s going to his left and right, and that’s a big out on that backhand. That gives the pitcher so much more confidence.”

The play ended the fourth inning, stranding a run in what was then a 2-0 game.

“He’s great, man,” Scutaro said. “His defense is unbelievable. He has an unbelievable arm. I went up to him and asked if I can borrow a little bit. He has too much arm.”

— Bochy said Scutaro will remain a fixture when Sandoval returns. That could mean time at second or short, and it could mean time at third base on days when Bochy moves Sandoval to first. Yes, that’s still an option, we were told tonight.

“Marco will continue to be out there,” Bochy said. “What he gives you is depth and flexibility. What you like about Marco is the fact he’s so good defensively wherever you put him. He’s such a smart player. He’s got a quick release and the (internal) clock that you like in a good infielder.”

Scutaro had never had more than four RBIs in a game. He had seven tonight, the most by a Giant since 2001 and the most by a Giants third baseman in 20 years.

— Posey walked three times but also extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

— Bobby Evans confirmed a CBSSports.com report that the Giants and Cabrera have tabled contract talks until the end of the season. Evans said the two sides spoke briefly last month but it never got serious.

I got a lot of questions and complaints about this on Twitter, but really it’s something that shouldn’t be made into a big deal. It always made sense for Cabrera to test the market, and it makes even more sense now that he’s still picking up multiple hits every night. Every big game brings him that much closer to a huge contract. The good news for Giants fans is that the Giants have given every indication that they intend to be right at the front of the bidding line.

— Left-hander Jose Mijares made his Giants debut in the ninth. He gave up a hit, walked one and struck out one in a scoreless inning.

— I’ve written quite a few words lately on the continued efforts to keep Posey healthy and rested. Noticed tonight that they’re still having Hector Sanchez warm up some of the pitchers before games. Sanchez worked with Vogelsong tonight and replaced Posey in the eighth.

It seems likely that Posey would get a day off Thursday. He’s played quite a few innings on this road trip and has spent a lot of time running the bases.

— When I was writing about team speed a couple weeks back, I asked Emmanuel Burriss to rank his teammates by speed. He said he would take different guys in different situations, and added that, for instance, nobody could beat Cabrera to second base. You saw that in action in the sixth inning.

It looked like Cabrera’s hustle double would get the Giants a big run. Turns out that was just the beginning.

— Finally, I leave you with Lonely Fredbird. He didn’t have much to cheer about tonight.

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I’m curious about the speed of other guys on the team. It’s always hard to tell who’s really fastest, and when, and I don’t know of a stat for that.

Nagroc

Great to see the guys making it look easy.

4SeamSuzie

Beating up on the Cards is so much fun. Great job, G-men!!!

http://www.mercurynews.com ClutchUp

Thanks Pavs!

Bmad

Wow… Now this was a well played ballgame. My hope is that Vogelsong gets some strong Cy Young consideration. He’s currently my favorite pitcher to watch…

http://www.mercurynews.com ClutchUp

SFPHIL stop watch: Blanco Pagan Melky

FastEddie

Great win tonight, all around, offensively and defensively. Hoping tomorrow’s game will have the boys going back to AT&T with a 6-1 road trip. Let’s go Mad Bum!!

Slash78

Yeah, Belt has three multi-hit games…but Pablo at 1B is still an option.

JC

Giants!

JC

Because Theriot and Crawford’s value on defense, you will prob see a platoon of them when Pablo gets back. Sometimes you may see Pablo at first as well to keep Theriot or Crawford defense for the whole game hitting at the bottom of the lineup. But this is what I foresee:

Got to stick with the Brandons for defense and their both making strides offensively. Theriot will still get his PT and Arias will still be utilized vs. lefties. Hector will be able to spell Posey for one time through rotation. Having Pablo back and Hector in lineup can help us weather one game of not having Posey in lineup and actually giving him a full day off, even how hot his bat is in this 2nd half. But until Pablo does return, you have to ride Posey out there.

Belt’s Fault

It was nice to see Belt cost a team other than the Giants for once. If you remember the routine double play ball off the bat of Ryan Theriot that Tyler Greene missed, then you might have noticed the runner with the slumped shoulders and pathetic posture moving from first to second as Greene went to field the ball. It was Brandon Belt. His body language is so awful that it’s even distracting members of the other team now.

By the way, Brandon, way to not even drive in a run in a 15-0 blowout. Sure, you had your third consecutive multi-hit game and you hit the ball hard in four of your five plate appearances, but where are the RBI’s? Brett Pill didn’t have a problem driving in a run tonight; maybe Bochy should wake up and play him at first from now on. #RBIGuy #PlayPill #BenchBelt

CB

Love this new look Giants lineup. Pence starting to heat up after a rough start with us. But he is a proven bat and streaky and aggressive hitter. But Scutaro is a solid addition. He is consistent and solid defensively wherever you put him 2B, 3B and SS. He is a better version of Arias and a much better hitter. Scutaro, I think has found his comfort zone in the 2 spot. Everybody contributed 1-9 offensively, even Vogey with a sac bunt. But yeah. Theriot scored 3 runs and Crawford 2 for 4 with a run scored at the bottom of the order. That is the kind of production we need from up and down the lineup.

howtheyscored

That’s why you don’t bring ferrets to the shoreline without a hose

CB

Mijares coming in garbage duty but perfect time to ease him in to this team. He has great stuff, low to mid 90′s fastball from the left side with a nice curveball. Should be great addition for us going forward. I think we have to give credit to Sabes once again for all the under the radar moves and big moves he made in the offseason and at the trade deadline and after.

He trades an inconsistent starter for an MVP candidate in LF Melky Cabrera. That was a steal.

An under the radar move, he trades backup catcher Chris Stewart for George Kontos. Kontos has been a nice addition and a bright spot for this bullpen this year. The move also allowed Hector slide in to the backup catcher spot and give us some offensive potential from that spot. And indeed Hector has produced well as the backup.

He trades from a position of depth at the time in RP Ramirez and a struggling OF Torres for a more proven CF in Angel Pagan to be our leadoff hitter and CF. Pagan did struggle in the beginning which leads to the next under the radar move.

Adding Blanco on a minor league deal and invite to spring training. Blanco tore it up in spring and beat out Nate Schierholtz for the starting RF Spot and took over the leadoff spot and was hot until about July when the law of averages finally caught up to him and he cooled off. But he provided instant energy for us. And now is a solid 4th OF and late inning weapon off bench with the speed factor and defense factor.

And at the trade deadline, he adds Scutaro to fill the void with Pablo going on the DL for the second time. And Scutaro has just tore it up with us offensively and filled in nicely at 3rd base.

He trades a 4th OF Nate Schierholtz and from a position of depth in catching prospect Tommy Joseph to land us a much proven commodity and everyday RF in Pence. Pence had a slow start but is starting to get in comfort zone with us and heat up with the bat.

And now add in Mijares to help this struggling bullpen.

Arias has been a godsend throughout the year on the defensive side in filling in at 3B for Pablo, playing a nice SS when Crawford gets a spell and has had some moments offensively as well.

In a nutshell, this team is built for another playoff berth and division title and chance to contend for another World Series title.

The Giants strengths are starting to come in to play again: Pitching and defense. And the offense has picked it up in the 2nd half and that has to do with the presence in the lineup of Pence and Scutaro allowing other key guys to relax and get some protection and young guys like Belt n Crawford to make strides and develop offensively.

ASPDX

@BeltsFault, #RBIGuy #PlayPill #BenchBelt
I truly hope you were not being facetious…Belt may be the 1st baseman of the future but he needs at least a full season in AAA. They need to send him down pronto. He chokes with RISP and simply can’t hit for power.
Great win today but BB should not be the G’s 1st baseman going into “crunch time”.

Angry Dan

Magic Number = 50

3King

6-1 or 5-2 on the trip

Do your thing fellas

Go Giants

Bad giants

Great game! The bloo of that one will wear off quick when Bochy puts Pablo back at 1b and we lose him for the season

AP

Because pablo is a .300 career hitter. Let’s bench him in favor of belt. Even if we had ryan howard you’d probally want belt huh

3King

Heres to BB9 hitting some homers during the rest of Leo

Luke mcwarmsky

Great moves by Sabes this year….Do I smell another WS?

CB

Belt is fine. Theriot or Crawford will lose PT when Pablo returns. You may see Pablo at 1B in some spots moving Belt to bench but not often. I am thinking a Crawford/Theriot platoon is most likely. With our regular lineup looking like this:

Vogelsong is a Cy Young contender: with a 10-5 record and NL-leading 2.27 E.R.A. Most quality starts in league as well, I believe or tied with Zimmerman with 19 QS, who coincendentally is 2nd in NL in E.RA.

Mad Bum is slotted as our ace right now as in #1 starter in rotation. But our #5 starter Vogelsong is the ace. We have Four Aces to be exact: Mad Bum, Cainer, The Freak and Vogelstrong, in all reality and one wild card in Zeets.

JC

Lincecum is still an ace and is showing his form in the 2nd half after a rough and surprisingly bad 1st half. It happens to the best of them. Look at Halladay this season. But yeah.

mike

any one else love that commercial about going to college and the get gets all sad and the mom is pushing about college so lame you cant make ur kid go to college

allthewayfromfinnertys

I just gotta say, the term ace really gets thrown around too much.

An ace is a guy who you want to play games 1 and 5 in the WS. Right now, that’s Vogelson. No doubt about it.

You know you have two aces when there is legitimate debate over who that’s gonna be. As of today, are you really going to prefer Bumgarner, Cain, or Timmy?

All could change, for sure. But the beauty of Vogelsong’s 2012 season is that, well, he pretty much doesn’t change. He’s not perfect, but he’s quality and consistency.

Walter Guest

Belt’s fault @11:49: Funny post.

CB @12:00: Good rundown.

I wonder where Sabean went recently to learn to be smart. I want to go there. I could use some of that.

The Tourist

Key to our success for the rest of the season: quality starting pitching.

We get that done and we’re playing Sept baseball. It’s by no means guaranteed with Timmy still a question mark, Zeets tough but erratic, Cain a bit chewed up. They’re also the key to going far in the postseason.

Our offense is solid. I’ve been sayin, we hit the ball, we just need to do it as often with RISP to be an offensive force.

Defense is there as well, with some nice depth too.

Stay healthy, fellas. Let’s go get that second ring!

al oha

Hey Tourist,

The Giants are guaranteed playing through September, since the last regular season game is Oct. 3 vs. the Dodgers.

The question is, are they going to play in the Post Season after that date, or are they going to play October Baseball.

JD4SF

Thursday early game @ 10:45AM … with my upside down schedule, I’ll definitely be watching recorded!

Watch or Listen with MLB.TV:
Local TV: CSN-BA HD
Local Radio: KNBR 680

Let’s take one more from the Cards before heading home!Go GIANTS!!!

Bapah

Why on earth am I up at this hour?

rodbecksmustache

I love the fact that in reference to Crawford’s amazing play at short Vogelsong is setting the bar high. To him it’s a play he expects to be made because of the the caliber of Crawford’s defense. Too bad “pitchers can’t be leaders in the clubhouse.” Seems to me like it would be relatively tough to deny Vogelsong that distinction.

jerseygiant

Nice group hitting last night. Scutero answers to the Giants LOB and RISP problems.
Yes, JC, Vogelsong is the staff ace. The only consistent quality pitcher in the rotation. Let’s see how Madbum does in the heat today and if the Giants can score again in the first inning like they have this whole road trip.

http://Contracostatimes PerSpeier35

Everyone is raving about Vogelsong. Lowest ERA in the league, 21 straight six inning or more starts, Cy Young candidate, etc. Really? Has anyone noticed that his BA is the lowest of the starting staff, lower even than sluggers Zito and Lincecum. Come on Ryan, get it together. What happened to your bat?

Lefty

For once I don’t think Bochy’s comment on Sandoval playing 1B was a diss on Belt, who’s quietly coming along. I think he’s anticipating having to shuffle Scutaro (great add), Theriot (slumping lately but has been a valuable vet), and Crawford (Mr. ESPN highlight reel). He doesn’t want to close off any options and suggest anyone’s going to lose playing time.

I still don’t want to see any more Pablo at 1B after 1 1/3 games there put him on the DL. Rather see starts for Posey and Pill at 1B when it’s not Belt. Bochy is good at mixing and matching, and the middle infielders will all have a role–Arias, too, who’s really great to have for defense and has even hit a little bit on this trip.

Hopefully she didn’t take it personally. Especially since she’s not a GM and can’t be expected to be a good one without ever having made a transaction or run a draft.

———

Thanks, guys. I must have missed it, anyway, but it would have amused me. I don’t fancy myself a GM, a scout, a manager, or a coach. So whoever said that is absolutely right. The only things I’m good at are being a middle-aged college professor and a passionate fan!

Lefty

I wouldn’t say Vogelsong is the ONLY “consistent quality starter in the rotation,” but he is the MOST consistent. That’s what’s amazing about his season so far–he’s never had a bad outing, and even the best pitchers have them sometimes.

Young MadBum is going for his team-leading 13th win today, so I’d say he’s been pretty good. We now have three starters in double-digit wins, and Zito is almost there, too. And I wouldn’t bet against Lincecum getting there, either, even if he doesn’t make it to .500 for the year in W-L. Timmy seems to have the fire back.

I hope Bum got a good night’s sleep because the Cardinals have a tough righthanded lineup, and you know they’ve got to be mad about how the Giants dismantled them last night.

Scooter McFinch

Having said all that, the Giants might take the field in a few hours and go 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position. They do things like that quite a bit. They recently had a 3-7 homestand, you know.

Pitchers are tired and the Giants are tired of not hitting. It’s a good combination for the Giants.

Big game today. Let’s see the killer instinct. Wainwright,\ ‘wrighted’ his ship after making his way back from TJ. His July was very solid: WHIP around one. This will be a test for the Giant’s road offense. Are they really for real?

—

Any scoop on Gary Brown injury or reason for being out of lineup?

The Oracle

The ebb and flow of the blogosphere is so interesting. Two great games and optimism is through the the roof. If they lose the next two, I’m sure all hope will be lost for many. I’m cautiously optimistic, but my main concern going forward, other than the bullpen, is how Bochy will handle the Scutaro/Crawford/Theriot situation once Pablo returns. Pitching and defense go together, and Crawford has been superb defensively. He needs to be out there most every day at maybe the most important position on the field. I’m afraid Bochy’s natural tendencies, however, will mean much more of Scutaro at short, Theriot at second and Crawford on the bench.

Belt? He’s swinging extremely well right now, but I have no doubt that it will be back to the bench for him at the first sign that he’s cooling off, even a little, or even if he doesn’t cool off. My therapist has cautioned me not to think about it. Just think about waves breaking on the ocean. I believe Bochy made an appearance on the bog as ASPDX (#17).

Richard Hinds

Minor league notes from yesterday.
Joe Panik went for the circuit yesterday rasing his ba to .291
Crick and and Mike Kickham both had very good starts yesterday.

Hit4AvegerageHit4Power

That was a good game. The hitting was very good late in he game. The hitting was good early but DP’s took them out of the big innings that should have knocked their quality starter out sooner. It would have been nice to see them crank 1 or 2 out a little earlier than the 9th when the game was blown open. It is nice to see 1rst base have a few good hitting games however in a small park like St. Louis, he should crank a couple out. While he is no Mark grace, first base needs to be more than hitting for average as a singles hitter. The Giants need him to hit with power. Without that, they will always be looking to upgrade.

Giant PITA

@ oracle,

I’m afraid you’re going to be proven correct on your Theriot/Scutaro prediction. I have the same opinion. Theriot’s production fell off because he’s not really an everyday player, but Bochy’s vet love blinds him to this fact. Theriot is a fine bench player and if used in that manner will be fresh and more productive when he gets his chances. I’d like to see Scutaro playing everyday at 2B, his best defensive position, when Pablo comes back. And please Bochy, keep Pablo at 3B and Belt at 1B and keep our pitchers confidence high that plays will be made behind them when they pitch to contact. Crawford at SS most days with Theriot and Arias backing up the IF works for me. Go Giants!

Lefty

ASPDX says:
August 9th, 2012 at 12:09 am

“Belt may be the 1st baseman of the future but he needs at least a full season in AAA. They need to send him down pronto. He chokes with RISP and simply can’t hit for power.”

What an odd thing to say NOW. A couple weeks ago when he was scuffling badly on the road and Huff was about to come back, that might have made some sense. The last two weeks, though, he’s been hitting well (over .350) and striking out a lot less.

Can’t hit for power? He has 16 doubles, four triples, and four home runs in 259 ABs. His slugging percentage is behind only Buster, Melky, and Angel (not counting Scutaro, who just got here, Pablo, who’s on the DL, or Nate, who’s on the Phillies).

Belt is young and still developing. He only has about 1100 professional ABs and fewer than 450 at the major league level. He is not where he will be in a year or two–but he is not a minor leaguer, and he IS contributing.

Giant PITA

Belt is getting his hits and hitting the ball hard. The HRs will come as the hard contact continues. I’d hate to see BB9 going up there trying to hit HRs as he’d likely go back in the tank. He’s coming around nicely and no reason to change anything. Hit the ball hard consistently and the HRs will come.

FreeHacktor

My man Melkey, come on down to my world, play for 500K. What is your Agent thinking. You like to win, you will make good money, sure you would hit 10 more home runs in a smaller park but how many other teams will make you look so stupid in wearing a Milk Mans hat in honor of your allstart appearance. Do not take it as a diss when Sabean offer $12M over 3 years, its not his fault but the fault of the owners and the budget that Sabean had already spent on people who play 2/3 of a game every 5 games.

As we say in spanish

C’est la vie

Obrother

This team turned around and I think Zeets is great this year. How many times has he turned around a losing skid on the day he pitches? After his last few seasons we all have kinda freaked out when his turn coined up in the rotation and he has delivered. What I like about is that he’s done it with all his pitches and his low 80′s fastball. Voglesong is just plain lights out in almost every start. Timmy is turning it around. Cain is in a minor slump but he’s also received little run support. Bumgarner looks good. Just last week we were calling for Pagans head now look at him. Melky is playing great ball and I hope the Giants pony up for him to return although plenty of teams will be in the mix. This team is getting hot at the right time. Reminds me of 2010. Go GMen.

Bapah

Ginants need to score early so I can watch the girls play Japan. No nail biters today anywhere. Let’s keep it muy tranquilo.

Giant PITA

@ Lefty, all good posts on this thread. When are you gong to post something I don’t agree with?

kyle Perizi

Steak and Lowenbrau….. Dolan ( Alex ) you’re a genius.

Hit4AverageHit4Power

///Can’t hit for power? He has 16 doubles, four triples, and four home runs in 259 ABs. ///

How many of those doubles or triples were screamers off the top of the wall? I will bet you can not name 3. Most of those were gap hits or slices down the left field line. Double and tripples are not power numbers, while it may appear nice in “slugging” percentage, they are in no way representative to hitting with power.

ASPDX must be watching the season in some kind of time warp of DVR delay. His post might have had some merit 3 weeks ago, but now? WTF?

3King

Leading the NL in runs on the road? Amazing

Is Carlos Zambrano on our radar?

Putting out feelers, hes got a couple years of starts left. Can you say vogee part

Hes worth a call or two to Luria

Go Giants

Keep’n It Real

After a 15-0 win, I was expecting to see a complaint-free zone…then someone has to “dog” on Belt. Shame on you!

* I expect the Giants to win the West, but if they were in a 1 game wildcard playoff…I would choose Vogelsong as my pitcher. You know what you’re getting.

* After Crawford’s tremdous play/throw from the outfield grass, I said “There’s something you’ll see on SportsCenter tonight”. Yep…and it’s on-line too.

* Does anyone know Scutaro’s salary situation? Is he signed for next year? Just wondering…

* If Pense gets hot…this team will be mowing down people.

* The Melky contract situation concerns me; only because of the deep pockets the Fodgers seem to have. The Giants not only have to keep him because he’s a valuable asset to the team, they also have to keep him away from the Fodgers. If that ownership group gets a new stadium…scary.

* Lastly, I’m wondering what Pablo’s value is out there in the trade market. Assuming Melky stays, does it make sense to trade Pablo if he doesn’t get in shape and is unable to play 3B? I personally expect to see a drastic improvement in power numbers next year by Belt (he’s getting confidence with his 2nd half success)…and we always have Buster to play 1B…so it seems to me that Pablo would be the odd-man out. Once again, I am only bringing this up “IF” he doesn’t get in shape and is unable to play 3B. Kind of tired of his injuries and the Giants have been lucky with Arias play during the first injury and now Scutaro’s play with the latest one. Just throwing it out there…

Snagglepuss

Pablo should play 3b from hereon out because he’s a 3b. Not a 2b, not a SS, not a 1b, but a 3b. Why have him play a position he doesn’t have much experience in? And why does it make sense to then have an IF of Pablo, Theriot, Crawford, and Scutaro as two out of the four aren’t very good hitters? Pablo, Crawford, Scutaro and Belt give you the best IF. Period.

And, of course, it goes without saying that Bochy’s comment about playing Pablo at 1b while Belt’s playing some of his best baseball of the season is pretty much typical of how they’ve treated the poor guy.

http://nada paul in p.v.

1. Belt´s Fault ¨(#13) – ¨It was nice to see Belt cost a team other than the Giants for once. If you remember the routine double play ball off the bat of Ryan Theriot that Tyler Greene missed, then you might have noticed the runner with the slumped shoulders and pathetic posture moving from first to second as Greene went to field the ball. It was Brandon Belt. His body language is so awful that it’s even distracting members of the other team now.¨ LMAO – ever thought about a job with The Onion?
2. Oracle-Lefty – don´t just bench Belt – send him down! ASPDX is Bochy? Must be…

Expat

Lefty and Giant PITA, good posts about Belt. I DO NOT want to see Pablo at 1B. This team seems to be crystallizing on offense/defense. Musical chairs around the infield seems like a sure way to disrupt this progress.

There were soooo many critics of the signing of Scutero a few weeks ago on this board. Where are they now? All he has done is hit at a 347 avg 389 OBP 490 slugging and 879 OPS 13 RBI in 12 games and 1 K per 10 AB’s. Better production for a washed up backup player than the slick fielding power hitting first baseman the Giants have..

But no one would ever call for or claim Scutero as a power hitter right?

kyle Perizi

The impending relay races between the Jamaicans and Americans has me as excited as a Pence at bat.

When Bochy says stuff like Pablo playing at 1B, it makes me think “Wisdom Cow”…who has been saying “Fire Bochy” for some time now.

It makes zero sense for him to even bring that up with the press; especially when you can visually see Belt’s confidence growing. Why would you want to mess with Belt’s head right now? Why would you want to put your 3B starter on 1B, when that’s he got hurt in the first place?

Instead of Bochy’s “Grab a beer” comment to Belt on SHO’s The Franchise, I say “Grab a clue.”

Skweezplay

Anyone else think it would make better sense to play Posey today than tomorrow? Tougher opponent, better hitting conditions, streaking like crazy in fantastic groove. Rest him against the Rockies and let Sanchez catch Lincecum?

pacman68

WALTER @ 3:05

I wonder where Sabean went recently to learn to be smart. I want to go there. I could use some of that.

HILARIOUS!

Keep’n It Real

@Skweezplay

I should think…at a minimum…Buster should be at 1B today…if you’re looking to keep Scutaro in the lineup. Buster 1B + Scutaro 3B > Arias 3B + Scutaro 1B.

How would you like to be MadBum and look at the LU Bochy has out there for you; especially when the Cards didn’t have their top LU out there yesterday (and probably will today).

Bay Area Moose

Bomb Squad v2!

Panda Puffs Are Delicious

@CB #16

Right on sir, thank you for giving praise where it us due.

Matthew

It appears that Clutch Up is the Giants Extra Nominating Committee… I believe he is taking nominations now.

I hereby nominate ASPDX as the Worst Post of the Season.

Clutch, please confirm that this nomination was received and accepted, as the marketing team for ASPDX needs to launch their victory assurance campaign.

Matthew

My son is in a suite at Busch with his buddy today… daddy wants three things for him:

///Can’t hit for power? He has 16 doubles, four triples, and four home runs in 259 ABs. ///

“How many of those doubles or triples were screamers off the top of the wall? I will bet you can not name 3. Most of those were gap hits or slices down the left field line. Double and tripples are not power numbers, while it may appear nice in “slugging” percentage, they are in no way representative to hitting with power.”

What in the world is wrong with doubles and triples in the gap? Pablo hits a ton of them. So does Melky. So does Angel. They work just fine. In fact, it’s a perfect hitting style for a home ballpark that is not home run friendly, especially for lefties. Home runs are not everything. The Giants scored 15 runs last night with only ONE home run in a GOOD hitters’ park.

What is wrong with slices down the line? That’s called using the whole field, and that’s supposed to be a good thing, right? It enables you to beat more pitches and defensive alignments and be a more versatile hitter.

I am sure Lefty could make out the lineup better than Bochy throughout the season. Many managers are not good at that. Years ago Bill James wrote that all ML managers should play a few thousand table-top baseball games to learn how to make a lineup. Bochy probably only costs the team one win a year with his batting orders, but a win is worth 5 million dollars on the open market.

If the manager is not sure, just batting everyone in the order of OBP would do the least harm, even if it put a slow guy at leadoff. Better to have a slow guy on base than no one at all.

Have you noticed the Dodgers hit A. J. Ellis, with his .400 OBP, eighth? That is just nuts.

The Oracle

Have there been any updates on Bochy’s medical condition? He’s obviously incapacitated for some reason, because there’s no way he made out this lineup. Having Posey catch a day game after a night game just to keep BELT in the lineup? I like it, but I can’t believe Bochy would. Has Slash kidnapped a Bochy family member?

Die Hard Giants Fan

If the Giants want to rest Posey, let him play 1st today and tomorrow with Sanchez catching both games. Giants need his bat. A tired Posey is still better than a line up without him.

Looking and hoping that Bum has the same end of the year streak he had last year. Let’s go Giants. Again! Play ball.

Gamertude

#17, ASPDX, you are a joke. You and Brett Pill can go have a hack-a-thon together in slow pitch softball…but am I being facetious? I’m surprised you spelled the word correctly since you obviously have no idea what it means in context. Anyone who thinks Brett Pill should start has zero concept of the game of baseball. Not saying Belt is a world beater, but ANYONE who advocates for Pill to start should go follow badminton instead.

Glad to see Bochy has finally realized Scutaro is the ideal #2 hitter for this team…better late than never.

What a game, probably the best all around regular season game I’ve seen this team play.

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

“I can see Scoots at 3B when I put Pablo back at 1B” – hypothetical direct quote of Bruce Bochy, given Alex only gave us prose suggesting the idea of Scutaro to 3B while Sandoval returns to 1B.

“I was wrong. Man, I really did mess that kid up. Almost everyone can see it. Well, everyone that knows anything. God, I love Baer’s sheep. Why was I yanking Belt around so much? He’s a good kid and treated him like Schierholtz. At least he’s coming around now. Wait, maybe if I keep acting like I want to replace him at 1B, maybe if I keep suggesting other options, people will think all the jerking around was my plan to get the kid toughened up, to get him to step up. Baer’s Sheep will think I developed him. Maybe they’ll even think I’m a genius again. Gosh, I miss my Huffy.” – Hypothetical translation of the above hypothetical direct quote.

This line-up means one thing. Boch wants this series. Come to think of it, so do we. ‘Bout time.

kevin56

Theriot 2B, Scutaro 3B, Pablo 1B is much better defensively than Scutaro 2B, Pablo 3B, Belt 1B, Using the latter, the players are playing their natural positions and will be bored; while with the former, 2 will be at new positions and be more alert.
Also Theriot batting of .264/.313/.314/.627 is much better than Belts .251/.347/.390/.737,especially when you consider Theriots been scorching the ball lately and Belt is in a slump. Theriot also has 17 career HR’s to Belts 13, in only 2700 more AB’s.

Bochy talking to a child, no, a player, just looking like a child standing in the darkness cast by the shadow of Bochy’s head, “Nice game, Scoot.”

“Wait until you see what I can do playing 2B. It’s my actual position.”

“Er, uh, I may give that a try.”

Lefty

This decision has nothing to do with keeping Belt’s bat in the lineup and everything to do with Bochy really NOT wanting Buster to catch Timmy tomorrow night. There is no other way to explain it. I assumed that Hector would catch and Buster would play 1B or be off today.

Why, I don’t know. Most of Timmy’s better starts this year have been with Hector. Or maybe Timmy really doesn’t like working with Buster. But I bet it’s as simple as Bochy doesn’t want Buster to get beat up behind the plate. If that’s the reason, I can’t disagree with it.

Bapah

How’s this for the last ten days?

.348 BA 46 AB 23 hits 8 HR .388/.870/1.257

Adam Duvall, not bad kiddo.

The Oracle

If Hector Sanchez isn’t injured in some way, this is the biggest vote of confidence Bochy has ever given Belt. Hopefully Brandon can do something today that rewards Bochy for his decision.

Lefty

Also: This is the best infield defense available, and MadBum throws a lot of ground balls.

The Oracle

Lefty…you might be right, but then it would mean that Bochy is now more sensitive to Posey’s desire to catch every day, with only very occasional starts at first. Otherwise, he would have had Hector catch the next two. I wonder if Posey became a little more forceful in expressing his wishes?

Bapah

This makes a lot of sense since the Cards were so down yesterday. When that happens, you have to put your foot on their neck and keep them there.

San Francisco Giants
=============
With four lineup regulars, Melky Cabrera, Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro and Ryan Theriot, eligible for free agency after the season, general manager Brian Sabean will have his work cut out for him. The Giants would probably like to have all four of those players back, with Cabrera at the top that list, but it’s unlikely they will bring all of them back, and Sabean could look to the trade market, which he used to bring in Cabrera and Pagan last winter.

The starting rotation will be strong once again, especially if they get the pre-2012 version of Tim Lincecum back. There is concern with the lack of depth behind the starting five, although it hasn’t hurt them one bit in 2012 since Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and Barry Zito have made all but one of the team’s starts.

If Brian Wilson regains his previous form after returning from Tommy John surgery, the Giants have a chance to be one of the best bullpens in the league with Santiago Casilla and Sergio Romo bridging the gap to the ninth inning. Jeremy Affeldt will be a free agent, but they still have two effective lefties in Javier Lopez and Jose Mijares

Holes on the horizon
=============
1. 1B
2. LF
3. RP

Offseason priority
===========
Acquiring Hunter Pence — who is under team control through 2013 — at the trade deadline takes care of one outfield spot, but losing Cabrera and Pagan would leave a gaping hole in the lineup. Gregor Blanco has faded after bursting onto the scene with an .884 OPS in May and top prospect Gary Brown might be at least a half-season away from taking over the starting center-field job. It should take at least five years and $60 million to re-sign Cabrera, but they could probably afford to pay up since there aren’t too many other holes to fill on the roster.

Matthew

Clutch, who is also the avatar expert… How did my Juan avatar get kidnapped and replaced by Bulwinkle? I mean, I like the dude, and root hard for his school, Whatsamatta U, and have visited his resort getaway Isle of Lucy….but, still…..

Bay Area Moose

TWC: Option 3: whatever ASPDX says …

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

Yesterday was kinda cool, a 15 – love ballgame, AND my daughter enjoyed her first viewing of The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show. Fractured Fairy Tales, baby!

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

Matthew, over on Wilner’s version of a (or more apt, pathetic excuse for a) college blog, things get screwey often. Your post will be published under someone else’s name and avatar, with cookies having the “Leave a Reply” fields filled out with their information (e-mail included) whenever you return to the page.

http://www.mercurynews.com ClutchUp

ASPDX has been here many times before, diff name

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

Lefty, I want you to know that from now on, in my mind, when I write “Lefty,” I’ll be thinking “Lousy.” Such a handle would most definitely have been acquired as a new nickname after “Lousy GM-Gate” in my circle of friend back in college.

While I am certain you and Mr. Lousy, oops, Mr. Lefty could and would appreciate the usage of “Lousy” as a term of endearment, the site, collectively, could never handle it. Baer’s Sheep would even try to have me banned, no doubt.

A bummer, too. The juxtaposition of labelling the most objectively reasonable poster as “Lousy” is just dripping with all sorts of subtexts.

Walter Guest

Prediction:

The Giants would be glad to sign Melky at 5 for 60 right now but the bidding will reach 5 for 75 in the off season.

Melky would give a discount to stay, but not that much.

The crystal ball clouds up at that point.

http://www.mercurynews.com ClutchUp

Nomination received!

Lefty

KIR: Interesting piece. Thoughts:

(1) Let’s say the Giants are successful in re-signing Melky, and of course they have Pence. Do you go after Pagan, too, or do you go with Blanco/Brown in CF? Pagan may get expensive.

(2) Scutaro is making $6 mil. this year as a 36-year-old. He’s playing great for the Giants so far, and I’m sure they’ll want him back. Do you pay him $6 mil. or more to keep him? If not, who’s the 2B next year? Too soon to Panik.

(3) Affeldt has been one of their most effective relief pitchers this year, and even though they have two other lefties under team control, they are both LOOGYs. Affeldt made $5 mil. this year. Do you pay that much or more to keep him?

(4) Given other financial considerations, I seriously doubt they’ll go after any big 1B name, unless it’s via a trade. The only interesting names on the potential free agent list are Carlos Lee and Adam LaRoche (team option), both of whom have turned down previous offers to play in SF. Pretty sure we don’t want James Loney or Ty Wiggington or Aubrey Huff’s $10 mil. option. They’ll probably continue with internal options (Belt, Pill, Posey, Sandoval).

Lefty

Wisdom Cow: I’ll pass along your regards to Mr. Lousy!

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

Something tells me he may have a new nickname.

pacman68

When you score 15 runs the night before. You don’t eff with a good thing. I’m giving Bochy props again for going for the throat. Man, all this Bochy love from me in the past couple days. I may have a man crush.

pacman68

Lefty

1. No Pagan. Brown, Melky and Pence.

2. Sign Scutaro.

3. Don’t know about Affeldt but see if he goes for something cheaper.

4. Keep Belt at first next year. According to Clutch Up. It will be his break out season.

Matthew

Let’s start a new sitcom titled ” I Love Lousy” , and wisdom Cow can play the role of the lovable curmudgeon, Fred Mertz!

Matthew

Lousy, you got some ‘splaining to do!

pacman68

And David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are a couple. Life is great.

Scooter McFinch

Surprised that Buster is catching today.

I think it was Lefty who nailed it. Lincecum pitches tomorrow. Ah ha.

Lefty, you may not make the greatest fake GM, but you have a keen sense of analysis and some sharp wit (Notice ‘lousy’ is nowhere to be found in this sentence, except here).

Keep’n It Real

@ClutchUp

Is new avatar Vogelsong?

Lousy Lefty

Thanks, Scooter!

And Matthew, I’ll work on my ‘splaining before Mr. Lousy gets home!

You guys crack me up.

Woj

A superb game all around last night. Vogey IS the ace of this staff. Period. Bumgarneri s second and Cainer you are third. Cain had the perfecto and followed it with with multiple stinkos since. Stats don’t lie and handing our Perfecto Pins would remove the mediocrity since 6/13/12.

Vogey simply rolls out quality start after quality start. And does it quietly and with poise and little fanfare. Giants are fortunate to have this rock solid vet. Vogey is top 5 right now in Cy Young voting and if keeps going, winning the Cy Young would be his just reward.

peakfreak

From KNBR – Brown got hit in the eye with a bat during batting practice. An MRI revealed all is normal and he might be back today and Bochy hasn’t rulled him out of a Sept callup.

Woj

I despise this board’s auto correct feature:
A superb game all around last night. Vogey IS the ace of this staff. Period. Bumgarner is second and Cainer you are third. Cain had the perfecto and followed it with with multiple stinkos since. Stats don’t lie and handing out Perfecto Pins on Friday would not remove the mediocrity since 6/13/12. Cain needs to get this going. Can’t win the division without him gettign back to April-May-early June excellence.

Keep’n It Real

@Lefty

(1) Unless there isn’t a market for Pagan (which would place him in the “discount” pile that Sabean likes), I honestly didn’t see Pagan coming back next year. I’d rather have Melky and do the Blanco/Brown option you mentioned. If the Fodgers go after Bourn, then perhaps Victorino comes on the cheap, so he can be close to the family and Hawaii.

(2) Tough call at 2B. I haven’t seen enough of Scutaro at 2B to make a decision. If he plays it well, I would sure like to keep his bat. $6M? I don’t know what the market will be. I do know I wouldn’t go higher than that, though. Theriot decision is based upon what happens with Scutaro. I think Theriot would be cheaper if “the glass is half full” scenario is needed if/when Scutaro goes somewhere else.

(3) Something in my bones tell me Affeldt would take a team-friendly contract. He seems happy here and as long as he’s being paid an amount that he’s comfortable with (regardless of market rate), I don’t see him going elsewhere. The Fodgers might make a play, but he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would sell his soul for Fodger money.

(4) I haven’t read Clutch’s 2013 assessment of Belt (which was previously mentioned here), but I’m in that same camp. Going out and getting a 1B isn’t high on their priority list. Belt will be infinitely better next year and the Giants have depth there.

El Lobo

IF Sanchez catches Timmy tomorrow, it will because he beats up catchers. I don’t buy that there is any animosity between Timmy and Buster.

The Giants need to start the home stand off well tomorrow, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the hottest hitters in the lineup, including Buster and Belt.

Bapah

Woj, this board does not have an autocorrect, it’s on your computer.

Kir, 2nd base is Scutero’s best position.

Jeremy will be here next year.

Bapah

Unless he borrows Matt’s sword.

Bochy’s Thunderskull

Brian Wilson’s going to be a question mark until he pitches his first game, and even then they say the recovery from Tommy John isn’t over. They continue to build strength and velocity after they comeback. So, I guess my point is, if Affeldt becomes this season’s pseudo closer, don’t you have seriously consider bringing him back next season if you’re the Giants?

http://thewisdomcow.blogspot.com/ The Wisdom Cow

Does Timmy have his own App? No.

I swear, now that Buster is just another Multi-Millionaire Bay Area Software Developer, he gets everything he wants.

Do you really blame Big Time Timmy Jim for some envy?

Keep’n It Real

testing, 1,2 ,3

http://www.piszythergsf.com Buffy Maxell

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